Star Image - Slash

Star Image - Slash

Star Image - Richard Griffith

‘No machinery ever of itself and by itself made a star. That takes place in the depths of the collective unconscious’

Basically he is saying that it doesn't matter how much is reenforcing someone to be a star, it is not that reinforcement that makes a star, it is how the audience receives them. Therefore it is not really about talent anymore, and there is only so much a record label can do with an artist, if they aren't widely liked then isn't much else that they can do. The consumer won't look at all the effort that has been put into the artist, whether or not they like the artist is done unconsciously, and if more an people like them, then a star is made.

Star Image theories - Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer says that there are a range of star to audience relationships:

1) Emotional affinity - The most common relationship (and the most healthy), the audience has a lose attachment to the artist.

2) Self Identification - This is when the person puts themselves in the same situation as themselves because they love this artist so much which is much more common than expected.

3) Imitation - This is the most common amongst the youth of our culture, they see the artist as an idol, someone to look up to.

4) Projection - This is when imitation is taken to the extreme, the artist has actually desensitized the audience and they lose touch with reality (very rare)

Star Image Theories - Andrew Goodwin

Andy Goodwin says that: The creation of character identities for stars provides a point of identification for the audience/spectator which is especially important when lyrics often lack depth.

Basically, if a stars lyrics aren't particularly deep or meaningful then it makes it harder for the audience to relate to them, however if they create an image or a character then it makes it easier for people to relate to and increases their popularity and their power to be an idol.

He also says that: The construction of stars is central to the economics of the music industry – only stars guarantee sales and long careers,

In some ways, this is true, stars will have bigger sales and longer careers but this does not always make them the most popular. sometimes smaller artists have much more loyal solid fan bases because they are more down to earth and not surrounded by a bubble of fame much like a lot of "stars" today.

He says that : Star loyalty is a key ingredient – fans are loyal to the star.

Again I would agree with what he is saying, people like Lady Gaga have a huge fan base all of whom are loyal to the artist and will probably side with them despite what other people may think or if the artist does something shocking (like wearing a suit made of meat).

He also says : The record industry is very dependent on stars – many record companies rely on a few big stars (or even just one) to provide stability.

I think this makes perfect sense, some record labels may only have one artist, but if it is a super star then they are sorted, they don't need anyone else, why would they waste time on artists who aren't going to be starts when they could just focus on the star thats going to make them the most money. It seems wrong but thats just how it is in todays music industry.